The hostel was very near to Nakamise Shopping and the famous Asakusa Sensoji Temple (both at the same place) and is about 1 minute walk to the Tokyo Metro Asakusa station. There is a family mart nearby, many restaurants and also a tourist information center right across the Nakamise Shopping Street.
Just before I head off to Tokyo, I emailed the hostel for the name of the place and direction in Japanese. So here it is:
Khaosan Tokyo Original: カオサン東京ゲストハウス オリジナル
Address: 台東区雷門2-1-5（雷門郵便局 裏）means 2-1-5 Kaminarimon
I took the Narita Express train from airport to Tokyo Station. Getting the NEX + SUICA package is really worth it as that means that you get to have the NEX ticket for only 1,500 Yen with guaranteed seat, less crowd and more comfortable.
From Tokyo Station, transfer to the JR Chuo line to Kanda Station and at Kanda Station, take Tokyo Metro Ginza line to Asakusa Station.
Narita --> Tokyo Station --> Kanda Station --> Asakusa Station
Once you arrived at Asakusa Station, take exit 2 or just follow the sign to Kaminarimon. There are actually two exit 2 in the station. It depends on which platform you arrived actually.
If the exit 2 does not have an escalator like the one below, once you are out from the exit, you will see a tourist information center on your left and Nakamise Shopping Street on the right a little further ahead. You have to U-Turn, walk towards the direction of this weird gold horn shape.
You will see a red building like this across the road. This is actually exit 4 of Asakusa Station. Cross the road towards the red building. Right after the red building there is a small lane leading to the right. Take the small lane and continue walking till you see the hostel on the left.
If you take the exit 2 with an escalator, once you are on the upper floor, the exit 4 is right in front of you. Continue with the stairs to exit 4 and you will come out at this exit below. Take the immediate lane to the right and walk till you see the hostel on the left.
Even though it is located in a back lane, I have no problem when I came back late. It is safe.
That's Khaosan Tokyo Original. There is a water vending machine outside so it is really convenient. You will be given the password to access the entrance after you checked in, otherwise just ring the door bell and someone will open the door for you.
I made a reservation in a 8 bed dorm. My room was just across the hostel's mini office. There are 4 single beds and 2 double deckers. Although the room is a little cramp, it is clean and comfortable. Those sleeping on double deckers have this mini curtain that they can cover for more privacy. The room also has lockers and a shoe rack.
My room was at the Mezzanine floor and the wall is a little thin. There was this group of people who were chatting and laughing till around 1.30am on one of the nights at the kitchen and it was really noisy from the room. Other than this one night incident, the rest of the nights were fine.
From the room, this is the view that we see.
Everything in the hostel is like so close to each other. The moment you enter, you will see the toilet on the left, next to the toilet is the dining table and next to the dining table is the wash basin. It feels kind of weird to be washing your face and brushing your teeth when the others are still around chatting away or eating at the table. Oh, they do have hair dryer here .
They have a refrigerator, microwave, toaster, coffee maker and all the utensils, cooking oil and stuff.
That's the staircase leading to the mezzanine floor and next to it is our one and only bathroom on the ground floor. At each floor, there is only one toilet and one bathroom. I was a little concern with this at first but was surprised that I did not have to wait at all each time I need to use them.
That's free coffee, tea, sugar and milk.
That's the mini living room with a sofa. The luggage storage area is in the open at the living room, next to the TV.
The hostel has free wifi and they also have 3 PCs available for use. There are also some travel guide books on the shelf.
Overall, my stay here was a pleasant and confortable one. No complaints. Staff speaks good English and are very friendly and helpful. Would I stay here again? Well, there are so many choices of hostel in Tokyo and I would like to stay at other places to compare their service and facilities if I ever visit Tokyo again. Nevertheless this place is highly recommended for its location, cleanliness and staff's friendliness.
i'm going to stay here in a few weeks! i've been curious as to how the place looks like because i stayed in the khaosan ninja near akihabara.
ReplyDeletecan't wait! thanks for the review
jujmo